Margo Geer Named 2014 Pac-12 Swimming & Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – ARIZONA’s Margo Geer was named the Pac-12 Women’s Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the Conference office announced on Saturday at the Pac-12 Women’s Swimming and Men’s and Women’s Diving Championships. The award was established to honor collegiate student-athletes that are exemplary both academically and in their sports discipline.

Geer, a 20-time All American, has been a four-year standout for the Wildcats, earning two NCAA individual titles in the 100-free and 50-free as a junior at the 2013 Championships and two 2013 Pac-12 titles in the same events. Her 47.14 in the 100-free at the 2012 NCAA championships set a program record while her career-best in the 50-free (21.64) ranks second in Wildcat history. In her first season of collegiate swimming in 2010-11, Geer won eight events in November en route to winning Pac-10 Swimmer of the Month. That same year she finished third in both the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events at the NCAA Championships, earning her Arizona Athletics’ Female Freshman of the Year. As a team captain in her sophomore campaign, she repeated as the Wildcat Athletic Department’s Female Sophomore Athlete of the Year in 2011-12. Geer has turned in a stellar senior year so far, collecting 19 first-place finishes in individual events and 10 first-place finishes as a member of relay teams during the regular season.

The Milford, Ohio native has been impressive in the classroom as well, carrying a 3.55 grade-point average as a Business Management major. The CSCAA named Geer a Scholar All-American while the Pac-12 honored her with All-Academic accolades the past two seasons.

In order to be eligible for the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, student-athletes must be a senior (in athletics eligibility) on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50 percent of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-12 institution may nominate one individual per sport, and the winners are selected by a committee of Pac-12 staff members at the conclusion of each sport’s regular season. The athletic accomplishments of the nominees are a consideration in the voting for the award.

A Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be named in each of the Pac-12’s 22 sponsored sports: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, football, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, men’s rowing, women’s rowing, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, softball, men’s swimming & diving, women’s swimming & diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s track & field, women’s track & field, women’s volleyball, and wrestling.

The Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards were established during the 2007-08 academic year.

Other nominees included: – Tristin Baker, ASU; Stephanie Au, CAL; Stephanie Phipps, STAN; Lynette Lim, USC; Anna Senko, UCLA; Traycie Swartz, UTAH; Aya Fujimura, OSU.

The above was a press release submitted by the Pac-12 Conference, posted unedited.